News Vendor Shot Dead

October 23, 2002|By Shannon O'Boye Staff Writer

Plantation — A man who was delivering newspapers at an apartment complex was shot in the back several times before dawn Tuesday by a friend, who then turned the gun on himself but only grazed his head with the bullet, a police spokesman said.

Thomas Marin, 41, was dead when paramedics arrived. The Sunrise man leaves a wife and two children.

The shooter, Steven Davidson, 33, of Lauderhill, was treated at Broward General Medical Center for minor injuries and then booked into the Broward County Jail in Fort Lauderdale on a first-degree murder charge, said Detective Steve Geller.

Marin's neighbors in Sunrise were shocked to hear of his death. His next-door neighbors said he was the first person to speak to them when they moved in.

He shared coconuts and pears that grew in his yard, liked to boat on weekends, and worked hard as a construction worker and newspaper delivery man and at making his house a home.

Geller said detectives are investigating to determine the motive for the killing. Both men are independent vendors who contracted with the South Florida Sun-Sentinel to deliver the newspaper. Neither has a criminal history, according to state records.

Davidson told detectives he had a yearlong relationship with Marin that had soured. He went to Marin's delivery route Tuesday morning to confront him.

"I don't know who this guy is," the victims' sister, Esther Marin, said of Davidson. "Apparently, he's obsessed with my brother. I don't know why he stalked him down and killed him in cold blood, shot him in the back. It's really upsetting."

Davidson caught up with Marin at the Landmark apartment complex, 551 NW 42nd Ave., about 4:45 a.m. and began walking with him as he delivered papers, Geller said.

"They took the elevator down," Geller said. "The dialogue lasted throughout the elevator trip."

When the men got off the elevator, Davidson pulled out a .45-caliber gun, Geller said. Marin started running and Davidson shot him several times, killing him. Paramedics and police officers rushed to the scene when neighbors called 911. Davidson was lying not far from Marin's body. He was grazed by a bullet to the head but was awake and alert, Geller said. His mother, Joan Davidson, declined to comment Tuesday night.